Items such as for example, spare parts for products of a business, are typically stored in a warehouse or a storage location. These are the places where the business maintains stocks of the items so that it can ensure accurate and timely delivery of the items as and when needed. In this day and age when customer service and satisfaction have become important for a business to stand apart from its competition, there is a growing need for effective item management. Furthermore, efficient management of items is a common goal of manufacturers as the availability of items has a direct impact on revenue and profit.
Typically, item management operations, such as, for example, determining stock levels of items in the inventory, ascertaining items to be replenished, order placing, and clearing duties for purchased items are performed by individuals. Such an approach to items management, however, involves a lot of challenges. For instance, a real-time estimate of item stock in the warehouse may not be available. Furthermore, manual intervention and dependence on individuals may become necessary for item management. Moreover, in large warehouses, efficient item management may be difficult to achieve by solely relying on individuals and the information in their possession.